Many of the potentially painstaking tasks accountants once had to complete by hand can now be completed with ease through the use of computers. While these technological improvements certainly have their benefits, there are also some disadvantages associated with trading traditional accounting systems for automated ones. Before you decide to fully integrate computers into your accounting, weigh the pros and cons of doing so.

Manual Error

When accountants complete tasks manually, the likelihood of error increases substantially. It is easy for a human to transpose numbers or make other seemingly minor mistakes that could have far-reaching consequences. Computers, on the other hand, simply follow through with commands, making it less likely a mistake will occur.

Continual Attention to Task

When companies elect to use manual accounting, they benefit from having someone continually dedicated to the accounting task. Often, with automated accounting, companies wait until the end of a business term to add up their profits and loses. In doing so, they may miss some warning signs that could have saved them a sizable amount of cash had they been doing their accounting as they went along through manual methods.

Time Factor

A computer can do in seconds what may take a human hours to do. By automating their accounting systems, companies can reduce the number of man-hours they have to dedicate to crunching numbers, potentially allowing them to re-allocate staff members or get answers to accounting-related questions more quickly instead of giving a manual accountant time to complete the calculations necessary to provide the answer to the query.

Reduced Cost

Because the aid of computers can reduce the amount of time it takes to complete accounting tasks, companies that use automated accounting can save money on this element of their business. While it may initially be expensive to outfit the business with the tech tools necessary to complete accounting related tasks, once the company absorbs this cost, they can reduce the funds they must expend on workers hired to complete accounting tasks.

About the Author

Erin Schreiner is a freelance writer and teacher who holds a bachelor's degree from Bowling Green State University. She has been actively freelancing since 2008. Schreiner previously worked for a London-based freelance firm. Her work appears on eHow, Trails.com and RedEnvelope. She currently teaches writing to middle school students in Ohio and works on her writing craft regularly.